Family name origins & meanings
- Ukrainian, Belorussian, Slovak (Medved’), Czech (Medvěd), Slovenian, Croatian, and Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic) : from the nickname Medved ‘bear’, applied to a large, strong, or clumsy person. In some cases this name may be a reduced form of Ukrainian or Belorussian Medvedev, a patronymic name of the same origin.